Can I Be Gluten Intolerant And Not Have Celiac Disease?

[Pig Daddy]

Can I be gluten intolerant and not have celiac disease? I test negitive for celiac but have all the symptoms pluse maybe one or two really strange ones.

[psawyer]

Yes, you can. My niece (not biological) is an example. She is gluten- and casein-intolerant, but does not have celiac disease.

[ravenwoodglass]

You can also be celiac and test negative. Both need to be just as strict with the diet.

[Heidi S.]

Yes, Yes, Yes! My mother and sister are celiacs. I and my niece are gluten intolerant. In the case of my niece and I we are very symptomatic, we react within an hour of glutening. My doctor told me that first degree relatives of Celiacs are sometimes the most severe with reactions.

A negative celiac test really means nothing. My niece and I were diagnosed gluten intolerant b/c we do not carry the 98% gene. Either we are the 3% who do not carry the gene but are celiacs or we are just gluten intolerant. Either way a gluten free diet is all we need! I myself are done with testing and have accepted the gluten free diet! Doctors are "practicing" medicine for a reason. Celiac tests are lacking and there are some terrible information out there from doctors about celiacs.

Trust your body and symptoms!

[jackay]

I do not know if I am Celiac or gluten intolerant. I did not have tests done until after I had eliminated most gluten. I will never go back to eating gluten just to have accurate test results.

Gluten makes me very ill. With that being said, I completely avoid it.

[K8ling]

ABSOLUTELY!! I am!

[siglfritsch]

You can also be celiac and test negative. Both need to be just as strict with the diet.

That is just incredible that all those health problems resolved after going gluten free. My blood tests were negative, but I had been gluten free for 3 weeks before the tests. I'm just staying gluton free also. I don't want to make myself sicker just to satisfy a doctor.

[Coolclimates]

Yes. In fact, most people with gluten intolerance DO NOT have Celiac disease. Read "Better without wheat." This book puts a lot of emphasis on people with gluten intolerance who don't have Celiac. Unfortunately, people with gluten intolerance (but not celiac disease) have an even harder time being diagnosed because doctors know so much less about this than Celiac. Also, some people with gluten intolerance actually suffer more than people with Celiac and are often taken less seriously than those with Celiac.

All these terms can be easily thrown around, and this book explains this better. Celiacs also have gluten intolerance. Celiac Disease is just a specific type of gluten intolerance. The only difference is with Celiac disease, the villi are blunted or smooth. For people with general gluten intolerance (but not celiac disease), their intestines appear normal, as does the villi.

[glutenfr3309]

yep! i didn't test positive for celiac through blood tests or a small intestine biopsy but i follow the gluten-free diet. already started to show inflammation in my intestines but the biopsy was negative for sprue. my doctor said had i not caught it this early 20 years from now i most likely would have been positive. i will NEVER go back to gluten!!

[mushroom]

Dr. Rodney Ford, New Zealand's Mr. Celiac. believes that celiacs are a very small minority of those with gluten intolerance. I myself believe that you become celiac after you have been gluten intolerant and gluten eating for long enough (although there are the rarer celiacs who will never test positive no matter how long they eat gluten).

[ravenwoodglass]

That is just incredible that all those health problems resolved after going gluten free. My blood tests were negative, but I had been gluten free for 3 weeks before the tests. I'm just staying gluton free also. I don't want to make myself sicker just to satisfy a doctor.

I was only expecting my constant D to go away. When all the other stuff resolved it felt like a miracle.

[kayo]

Count me in too. My diagnosis has gone like this: celiac, not celiac, celiac, not celiac.

Frustrating? For sure.

I'm in the camp that believes celiac and non-celiac gluten intolerance are the same thing, just varying degrees.

What I know: when I eat gluten I get violently ill. When I don't eat it I feel better. My body is healing and my viatmin levels are improved. Next month will be my one year anniversary of being gluten-free. best thing I have done for myself and Ill never return to eating gluten.

"Better without wheat."

Thank you for this, it's going on my wishlist pronto.

[Skylark]

Dr. Rodney Ford, New Zealand's Mr. Celiac. believes that celiacs are a very small minority of those with gluten intolerance. I myself believe that you become celiac after you have been gluten intolerant and gluten eating for long enough (although there are the rarer celiacs who will never test positive no matter how long they eat gluten).

Ditto Dr. Markku M